Women's Basketball Tames Leopards for Second Straight Win

BOSTON, Mass. - The Elms College Women's Basketball hit the road as they faced off against the Wentworth Institute of Technology in a non-conference game Monday evening.

BASICS
Score: Elms College 68 | Wentworth Institute of Technology 58
Records: Blazers 2-1, 0-0 (GNAC) | Leopards 1-2, 0-0 (CNE)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Wentworth would be the first to score, but Elms would quickly respond after a tip-in by first year forward/center Mary Turco (Winthrop, Mass.). The Leopards would retake the lead after a pair of free throws, but back-to-back steals by junior forward Jenny Gorski (Vernon, Conn.) and graduate Rahmia Johnston (Newtown, Conn.) would lead to three layups by sophomore guard Jade Lewis (Orlando, Fla.) and Turco to take a 8-4 lead. WIT would cause difficulties for the Elms offense to score and the Leopards offense would capitalize by scoring 15 points. The Blazers would see a tip by Gorski and jump shots by junior guards Piper Graham (Lancaster, Penn.) and Kelly LeBel (Tolland, Conn.), but Wentworth would have the lead in the opening quarter 21-16. The Leopards would once again score, but Elms would quickly pause their opponent's momentum by scoring back-to-back layups by junior forward/center Talia Uribe (South Hadley, Mass.) and Turco, with the latter being followed by a steal by Turco. After a pair of free throws were made by Johnston, Gorski would intercept a pass and would lead to a second layup by Uribe to take the lead 24-23. The intrastate foes would then trade the lead for the remainder of the first half, with Elms seeing layups by Johnston and Lewis along with three steals by Uribe, Graham, and Gorski, and a block by Turco, but WIT would hold the lead going into the halftime break with a 29-28 lead.

The Leopards would carry their momentum into the third quarter, scoring first, but six layups by Uribe, Lewis, Graham, and Turco would give the Blazers a large lead 42-34. Wentworth would try to trim down the lead, but Elms would not let that happen, seeing layups by Gorski, Turco, and LeBel, along with steals by Gorski, Uribe, and Turco to control the game going into the final quarter 50-40. The Blazers would score first after a pair of layups by Graham and Turco, along with a tip-in by Turco and steals by Graham and Gorski. The Elms offense would keep their foot on the gas pedal until the very end after a layups by Lewis and Johnston, a jump shot by Graham and a pair of free throws by first year guard Autumn Koch (Goldsboro, Penn.), along with steals by sophomore guards/forwards Shea Barron (Wallingford, Conn.) and Sophia Andrade (Southwick, Mass.). WIT would once again try to cut down the lead, but the Blazers would maintain the ten-point differential and win their second straight road victory as they would defeat Wentworth 68-58.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Turco - 16 points, 16 rebounds, three steals, a block, and an assist.

• Lewis - 14 points, five assists, two rebounds, and a steal.

• Johnston - 10 points, five rebounds, two assists, and a steal.

• Graham - eight points, six assists, four steals, and three rebounds.

• Uribe - eight rebounds, six points, and two steals.

• LeBel - six points and a rebound.

• Gorski - six rebounds, six steals, four points, and an assist.

• Koch - two points.

UP NEXT: The Elms College Women's Basketball team will host Salem State University for their home opener in a non-conference game on Thursday, November 21st at 7 pm.

--

For continuing coverage of Elms College Athletics, visit www.ecblazers.com and follow the Blazers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.